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Chinese Name: 马蹄糕
English Name: Horseshoe Cake; Water Chestnut Cake
Category: Snack小吃
Main Ingredients: Water chestnut
Horseshoe Cake马蹄糕 is a traditional dessert snack in Suzhou苏州, Jiangsu Province, Guangzhou广州, Guangdong Province, Fuzhou福州, Fujian Province, and Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region广西壮族自治区. It is said that horseshoe cake originated in the Tang Dynasty唐代. It is made by steaming water chestnut powder or sweet potato powder mixed with sugar water. Water chestnut is also called horseshoe in Cantonese and Fujian.
It is said that Gao Zong succeeded to the throne in the 23rd year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (649 A.D.). The Lingnan Road Festival envoy heard of the names of horses’ hooves, lotus roots, wild mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts in Guangzhou’s Pantang, so he ordered the painters to draw a picture of “five beautiful things in Pantang泮塘五秀”, and sent officials to present the picture and five things in the court. Emperor Gaozong made it a sacrificial object to ascend the throne.
After two years of Tiaolu’s crime, he was forced to commit suicide. He has three sons, who are Guangshun光顺, Shouli守礼, and Shouyi守义. Guangshun became the King of Le’an乐安王 and was later killed. Shouyi was the king of Qian犍为王, and he was granted Guiyang. After the death of Guangshun, Shouyi got the picture of “Five Xius of Pan Tang”.
Cheng’ao承敖 and his descendants went to sea through He, Wu, and Annan, following their ancestral precepts. Later, Tianfu entered Guangzhou in the first year of Tianfu in the Jin Dynasty and lived in Xizhi Street and Julongli, Longxi. Li Zhi李讫, a descendant of Cheng’ao, moved to Pantang Village after finding the “Five Wonders of Pantang”. At that time, there was a bumper harvest of horseshoes. Long Kun隆坤 picked them according to local customs and ate them. He felt the fragrance was sweet, so he saved some fresh horseshoes for later.
Soon, the fresh horseshoes began to rot. Long Kun then used the flour baking method to peel and mash the horseshoes in a kettle and bake them to powder over low heat. Boil the powdered water into a paste and share it with the villagers, which is just like fresh horseshoes.
Long Kun called it “Pantang Horseshoe Powder泮塘马蹄粉” because it was made of “Pantang Horseshoe泮塘马蹄”. Later, Long Kun opened a “Pantang Five Show泮塘五秀” shop, selling “Pantang Horseshoe Powder” and “Pantang Five Show” products to the world. And “Pantang Horseshoe Powder” is today’s Horseshoe Cake.
Water chestnut is also called horseshoe. The phosphorus contained in water chestnuts is the highest among root vegetables. It can promote human growth and maintain the needs of physiological functions and is very beneficial to the development of teeth and bones. It can also promote the metabolism of sugar, fat, and protein in the body, and regulate the acid-base balance.
Therefore, chufa is suitable for children. Eleocharis tuberose has a certain bacteriostatic effect and also has a certain effect on lowering blood pressure and preventing cancer. Eleocharis tuberose contains crude protein and starch, which can promote the peristalsis of the large intestine.
How to make Horseshoe Cake?
Ingredients：
- 500g horseshoe powder
- 750g sugar
- 250g horseshoe meat
- 3000g water
- 50g salad oil
Instruction:
- Step 1, Pulping powder: wash the Indica rice and glutinous rice, soak them in water for 1 day, then grind them into rice paste, put them into a cloth bag, and squeeze the water out.
- Step 2, Cake making: First, cut brown sugar into pieces for use. Put the slurry powder into the steamer to steam, then pour it on the chopping board, knead it evenly with brown sugar and white sugar while it is hot to make a semicircular strip with a diameter of about 7cm, and then cut it into 1.3cm thick pieces to make horseshoe cake.
- Step 3, Frying: Place the pan on a small fire, brush a layer of cooking oil, and then put the cake into the pan to fry until both sides are burnt yellow.
